April 4th, 2015

Aleppo is known as “the home of stuffed vegetables and kibab (plural of kibbeh) حلب أم المحاشي و الكبب. In “The Encyclopedia of Aleppo”, it is mentioned that there are more than 60 kinds of Kibbeh in Aleppo.

Kibbeh Bi-Safarjaliyeh is Kibbeh with Quince, an authentic Aleppine dish that combines sour and sweet taste. Safarjaliyeh itself is Quince cooked with meat, tomato juice and pomegranate juice. When kibbeh is added to Safarjaliyeh, the dish is called “Kibbeh Bi-Safarjaliye”. Quince in Arabic is “Safarjal” and “Safarjaliyeh’ is derived from it.

Let’s make Kibbeh Bi-Safarjaliyeh

Prepare Tomato Juice

1. Bring red tomatoes, and wash them.

2, 3, 4. Peel tomatoes completely, do not use the method of boiling tomatoes then peel them, it is very easy to bring a knife and peel tomatoes without boiling them. Do not discard tomato skins.

37. Add ground Aleppo pepper and salt to bulgur, and set aside in the refrigerator for two hours.

Prepare Lamb Meat Cubes

38. Cut lamb meat into medium cubes.

39. Put meat cubes in a pot and cover with water.

40. Turn on heat, and keep until boil and foam occurs on surface.

41. Once the foam is formed, you can see it very clearly, turn off heat, and take the pot and put under water so all the foam is washed and removed.

42. This is meat after removing the foam.

43. In deep pot, heat 1/2 tbsp ghee.

44. Add meat cubes and brown them.

45. Add water to cover the meat, and add pinch of salt. Leave it over high heat until boiling vigorously.

46. Once water is boiling vigorously, lower the heat and cover the pot and keep until the meat is tender and cooked. Once cooked, turn off heat and keep the meat in the pot with the water, then we will use the meat later.

Filling

47. Finely chop onion, then add pinch of salt to onion. Then rinse onion in several changes with water.

48. Put onion on a strainer and allow to drain for minutes.

49. In a pan, heat 1 tsp ghee.

50, 51. Add onion to ghee, and saute onion until transparent then set aside.

52. In another pan, heat 1 tsp ghee.

53. Add pine nuts to ghee and keep until golden brown in color, then remove and place on paper towel and set aside.

54. To same ghee, add chopped walnuts and keep until golden in color, then remove and place on paper towel and set aside.

55. In a deep pot, heat 1/2 tbsp ghee.

56. Add 130 g fat free ground lamb meat to ghee.

57. Brown the meat.

58. Once the meat is cooked, add sauted onion. Then add pine nuts and walnuts to meat, and season with al-bhar al-halabi (bahr al-daqqa al-halabi), salt and black pepper and stir for few seconds then turn off heat, (Note the meat should be completely cooked before adding nuts, when you cook meat, water is released from the meat, but this water evaporates during cooking, so once this happen and the meat is completely cooked and no water remains you can add nuts).

Kibbeh Dough

59. As mentioned in step 37, bulgur is kept in refrigerator for two hours. After two hours, add onion quarters to bulgur.

77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84. Shape each ball by moving your fingers clockwise (from 12 to 6) for several times until you get a thickness equals to 0.1 – 0.15 inch (0.3 – 0.4 cm) to get a shape similar to picture 83.

85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90. Fill each kibbeh with filling (meat mixture), and close to get fusiform shape (spindle-like shape). You will get 10 pieces of stuffed kibbeh. This shape of stuffed kibbeh we call it “Saiyah”.

91, 92. Take other part of dough, and divide into 8 balls, each is 10 g.

93. So you will have stuffed kibbeh, and kibbeh balls (without filling), set them aside.

94, 95, 96. Fill a casserole with water, add pinch of salt, bay leaf and cardamom seeds to the water, and bring it to boil.

Safarjaliyeh

97, 98. In a mortar, measure 1 tsp of crushed garlic and add 1/4 tsp dried mint to it, then crush them together and set aside.

99. In a deep pot, heat 3/4 tsp ghee.

100. Add meat cubes to ghee (meat cubes which was cooked in steps 45, 46, take them from the water and add them to ghee in this step), stir for few minutes.

101, 102. Add 1 cup tomato juice to meat cubes.

103. Add 1 3/4 cup water.

104, 105. Add 1/3 cup pomegranate juice.

106. Add 1/2 tsp pomegranate molasses.

107. Add 1 tsp tomato paste.

108. Add the mixture of crushed garlic and mint.

Keep the sauce on low heat to simmer.

109, 110, 111. Wash quince, and cut into large cubes (quince is used with the skin).

112. Add quince to the sauce.

113, 114. Keep on low heat until quince is cooked and tender, keeping an eye on it because quince should stay as cubes and should not turn mushy, for me it was cooked in 10 minutes.

Boiling Kibbeh

115, 116. You have to boil kibbeh at same time of cooking quince, so add stuffed kibbeh and kibbeh balls to the casserole which contains water, bay leaf, and cardamom seeds.

117, 118. Keep on high heat and boil kibbeh for 3 minutes.

119, 120. Use slotted spoon and transfer kibbeh to the pot that contains quince.

121, 122. Cover the pot and keep on low heat for 7 minutes.

Serving

123, 124. Taste and add salt if needed. Turn off heat, and serve in serving bowl.

Peel tomatoes completely, do not use the method of boiling tomatoes then peel them, it is very easy to bring a knife and peel tomatoes without boiling them. Do not discard tomato skins.

Cut peeled tomatoes in half.

Remove seeds, and do not discard the seeds.

Remove tomato core and do not discard the cores. Cut tomatoes into chunks.

Tomato chunks are not used in Kibbeh Bi-Safarjaliyeh. Store them in a container in the freezer for using in any other dish, for example use them to cook Burghul Bel-Bandourah.

Tomatoes’ cores, skin and seeds are in the bowl. Take them and put in a deep pot, and add pinch salt to them.

Bring them to boil on medium heat for 30 minutes.

Place a strainer over a bowl.

Add boiled cores, skin and seeds to strainer, and allow to slightly cool.

Use your hand and squeeze until you get all juice out.

Save the juice, and discard the cores, skin and seeds.

Set tomato juice aside.

Prepare Pomegranate Juice

Bring pomegranate, then cut in half crosswise.

Then, working over a large bowl and holding one pomegranate half cut side down, smack the fruit with wooden spoon to loosen and release seeds into the bowl.

In a blender, add pomegranate seeds.

Run your blender few times

Place a stainless steel mesh strainer over your bowl and pour the seed mixture through the strainer.

Use a spoon to press the pulp against the strainer to extract as much juice as possible.

Set pomegranate juice aside.

Prepare Bulgur for Kibbeh Dough

Prepare fine white bulgur wheat, and rinse it in several changes of water.

Add ground Aleppo pepper and salt to bulgur, and set aside in the refrigerator for two hours.

Prepare Lamb Meat Cubes

Cut lamb meat into medium cubes.

Put meat cubes in a pot and cover with water.

Turn on heat, and keep until boil and foam occurs on surface.

Once the foam is formed, you can see it very clearly, turn off heat, and take the pot and put under water so all the foam is washed and removed.

In deep pot, heat 1/2 tbsp ghee.

Add meat cubes and brown them.

Add water to cover the meat, and add pinch of salt. Leave it over high heat until boiling vigorously.

Once water is boiling vigorously, lower the heat and cover the pot and keep until the meat is tender and cooked. Once cooked, turn off heat and keep the meat in the pot with the water, then we will use the meat later.

Filling

Finely chop onion, then add pinch of salt to onion. Then rinse onion in several changes with water.

Put onion on a strainer and allow to drain for minutes.

In a pan, heat 1 tsp ghee.

Add onion to ghee, and saute onion until transparent then set aside.

In another pan, heat 1 tsp ghee.

Add pine nuts to ghee and keep until golden brown in color, then remove and place on paper towel and set aside.

To same ghee, add chopped walnuts and keep until golden in color, then remove and place on paper towel and set aside.

In a deep pot, heat 1/2 tbsp ghee.

Add 130 g fat free ground lamb meat to ghee.

Brown the meat.

Once the meat is cooked, add sauted onion. Then add pine nuts and walnuts to meat, and season with al-bhar al-halabi (bahr al-daqqa al-halabi), salt and black pepper and stir for few seconds then turn off heat, (Note the meat should be completely cooked before adding nuts, when you cook meat, water is released from the meat, but this water evaporates during cooking, so once this happen and the meat is completely cooked and no water remains you can add nuts).

Kibbeh Dough

As mentioned in step 37, bulgur is kept in refrigerator for two hours. After two hours, add onion quarters to bulgur.

Sprinkle bulgur with water.

Attach the fine holed plate to the meat grinder.

To the grinder, add bulgur and onion quarters, and grind.

To the ground mixture of bulgur and onion, add 75 g ground lamb meat.

Grind the mixture of bulgur, onion and ground meat.

Knead the dough with your hand, if you find that the dough is hard so add some water and knead.

Shaping Kibbeh

Prepare a bowl of lightly salted water, and bring kibbeh dough, and the meat filling

Divide part of the dough into 10 balls, each is 12 g.

Shape each ball by moving your fingers clockwise (from 12 to 6) for several times until you get a thickness equals to 0.1 – 0.15 inch (0.3 – 0.4 cm) to get a shape similar to picture 83.

Fill each kibbeh with filling (meat mixture), and close to get fusiform shape (spindle-like shape). You will get 10 pieces of stuffed kibbeh. This shape of stuffed kibbeh we call it “Saiyah”.

Take other part of dough, and divide into 8 balls, each is 10 g.

So you will have stuffed kibbeh, and kibbeh balls (without filling), set them aside.

Prepare Water for Boiling Kibbeh

Fill a casserole with water, add pinch of salt, bay leaf and cardamom seeds to the water, and bring it to boil.

Safarjaliyeh

In a mortar, measure 1 tsp of crushed garlic and add 1/4 tsp dried mint to it, then crush them together and set aside.

In a deep pot, heat 3/4 tsp ghee.

Add meat cubes to ghee (meat cubes which was cooked in steps 45, 46, take them from the water and add them to ghee in this step), stir for few minutes.

Add 1 cup tomato juice to meat cubes.

Add 1 3/4 cup water.

Add 1/3 cup pomegranate juice.

Add 1/2 tsp pomegranate molasses.

Add 1 tsp tomato paste.

Add the mixture of crushed garlic and mint.

Keep the sauce on low heat to simmer.

Wash quince, and cut into large cubes (quince is used with the skin).

Add quince cubes to the sauce.

Keep on low heat until quince is cooked and tender, keeping an eye on it because quince should stay in as cubes and should not turn mushy, for me it was cooked in 10 minutes.

Boiling Kibbeh

You have to boil kibbeh at same time of cooking quince, so add stuffed kibbeh and kibbeh balls to the casserole which contains water, bay leaf, and cardamom seeds.

Keep on high heat and boil kibbeh for 3 minutes.

Use slotted spoon and transfer kibbeh to the pot that contains quince.

Cover the pot and keep on low heat for 7 minutes.

Serving

Taste and add salt if needed. Turn off heat, and serve in serving bowl.

Serve hot.

Notes and Tips

Here is a photo of ground Aleppo pepper, and click here to know more about it.

I used lamb meat cubes, but traditionally in Aleppo bone lamb leg / shoulder is used.

I had one quince and the weight of it was 300 g. For the recipe, I only needed 150 g quince (with the skin).

Some people add pinch of sugar to safarjaliyeh (the sauce).

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on Saturday, April 4th, 2015 at 7:22 PM and is filed under Syrian Cooking, To Aleppo With Love.
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